The Origins of Geology: between Art and Science

Geologic painting by Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Verrocchio: the Baptism of Christ (c. 1475). Click on the smaller picture for a full analysis of the painting (from my book 'Geology in Art').

When speaking of geology and art, the first thing that comes to mind is painting. It may be that the association “art–visual arts” is almost automatic, but there is also a historical reason. Pictures are the preferred medium for expressing geology since Renaissance times. Leonardo da Vinci is universally regarded as one of the pioneers of Earth sciences for having recognized and interpreted a number of geologic phenomena. In his famous notebooks da Vinci focused on sedimentary geology and discussed sedimentation, stratification and fossils. Less well-known is the fact that Leonardo expressed his revolutionary geologic theories in his paintings. Geologic features are accurately represented in the Baptism of Christ, the Virgin of the Rocks and St. Anne (Vai 1995, 2003). Leonardo represented stratification in its finest details, including small-scale laminations.
Leonardo was not alone. A great number of artists represented sedimentary layers in extreme detail (see Branagan, 2006). These artists include Botticelli (Pallas and the Centaur), Bellini (St. Jerome Reading in the Countryside), van Eyck (St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata) and Dürer (Lot Fleeing with his Daughters from Sodom). There is no trace before Renaissance times of such a pervasive taste for the accurate representation of natural landscapes.

Sandro Botticelli, Pallas and the Centaur, c. 1482.

Botticelli, Pallas and the Centaur (detail). Note the precise depiction of layering.

The gap between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance can be understood from a quotation taken from Rosenberg (2009): “Art history records that the Western concept of landscape preceded the science of landscape”. Hence it is no coincidence that the emerging of GeoArt is simultaneous with the dawn of modern geology,i.e., the science of the landscape.

Renaissance was a critical period for science, enshrined in the modern scientific method by Galileo Galilei. In this vibrant cultural framework, naturalists followed an observational approach, trying to understand natural objects by describing and depicting them. To Renaissance naturalists the art of illustration was more than mere ornament, as testified by Aldrovandi: “to understand plants and animals there is no better way than to depict them from life” (Aldrovandi, 1572, quoted by Baucon, 2009).

Episodes in the representation of landscape and geologic objects. From my book 'Geology in Art'.

The observational approach was accompanied by the rediscovery of Arabic and Greek geometry, which led to a revolution in understanding spatial relationships and changed the visual perception of the Earth (see Rosenberg, 2009; Branagan, 2006). Although geology continue to evolve rapidly since Leonardo times, geology is still one of the most visual sciences as it is inextricably bound to the understanding of spatial relationships. Without “spatial thinking” (Andrews, 2003) there is no geology.
For these reasons, it can be well said that the origins of Geology are located in a land of convergence between Art and Science.

Fractals, Ichnology and Art

 A fractal-generated picture. Image from Wikipedia.

Some of the most emblematic figures of the Renaissance – da Vinci, Gesner, Aldrovandi, Bauhin – were pioneers of paleontology and demonstrated a visual interest in trace fossils. To decipher the reason for this aesthetic appreciation, I used fractal geometry to explore various ichnological drawings of the Renaissance (click here to read the full paper). Among analytical methods, fractal analysis proved to be the most efficient both in quantifying visual attractiveness and in describing the structure of complex patterns. In fact fractal geometry has been applied in studying visual perception itself and has been used to analyse abstract art, architecture and design.

Trace fossils in the Italian Renaissance: Cosmorhaphe, a "fractal trace" in Aldrovandi's Musaeum Metallicum. 

I fed a software with images of trace fossils and their representations. What emerged amazed me. Several traces (i.e. graphoglyptids and chondritids) have fractional dimensionality and self-similarity over a significant range of measurement scales (fractal behaviour). Intriguingly, such "fractal traces" are among the most figured trace fossils of the Renaissance. Fractal traces are hierarchically structured and their whole geometric structure can be regarded as an expression of self-organization processes producing correlations between different orders of scale. Being rich in structure, such traces have been acknowledged by naturalists for their instant aesthetic appeal.

 

Bruce Pollock based this oil painting on fractal geometry.

Nevertheless, fractals are not only in trace fossils, but in many other natural objects and humans seem to display a consistent aesthetic preference across fractal images. For these reasons many artists have been inspired by fractals to produce their art; here are some examples related to Geology.

'Tile Pattern And Vauxia Sponge' by Michael A Coleman. Vauxia is a sponge from Burgess, a world-known fossil site.

Bruce Pollock's fractal art is inspired by nature, including geologic objects.

A very unusual introduction to fractals: Arthur Clarke (famous for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey) presents "Fractals, the Colors of Infinity"

Sculpture, Treasure Hunt, Geology and Cycling: John Mills' Milepost

A Milepost from the Millenium Time Trail.

There are thousands of these mysteryous geologic sculptures throughout the United Kingdom. What are they precisely? From a press release of the Royal bank of Scotland:

"A puzzling treasure hunt with a secret code to crack and a unique prize for those who can solve the riddle. That is how the transport charity Sustrans describes the Millennium Time Trail. It is a new feature of the National Cycle Network which is officially launched today at 9.00am on March 20th 2001, the Spring Equinox, at 'The Home of Time', the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

Each milepost has a Time Trail disc bearing symbols and hieroglyphics bolted into it. By taking rubbings of these discs it is possible to gains clues to help decipher the code. There are several layers to uncover to reach the solution and a special Ultimate Prize for those who can work it out. For many, especially children and families, the fun will be in just getting out on the Network to find the mileposts and discs."

There are four different types of Mileposts, each depicting a different theme; intriguingly, the first was designed by the artist John Mills and is called 'The Fossil Tree'. The design is inspired to Sigillaria, an extinct tree-like plant, with a tall, occasionally forked trunk. Its fossils are commonly found in Carboniferous deposits (about 270 millions of years ago). Mills' sculpture presents relief imagery of fossils depicting the passage of time from Cambrian to the ultimate demise of fossil fuel driven technology.

 

A Carboniferous landscape by Walter Myers. Note the forked trees on the background: they are Sigillaria, the fossil tree that inspired John Mills!

As anticipated, the Mileposts posts are spread throughout the United Kingdom and make up a kind of treasure hunt on bicycles, relating to the ubiquitous theme of Time. You can take rubbings of the Time Trail discs (place a sheet of paper over them and rub all over with a wax crayon or pencil), keep a record of your journey and apply to Sustrans for special souvenirs called Time Treasures. There are 1,000 cast-iron Millennium Mileposts, donated by The Royal Bank of Scotland, along the UK's National Cycle Network!

Some of the 'Fossil Tree' Mileposts have been colored by local communities. The Mileposts have been promoted by Sustrans (a British charity which promotes sustainable transport) and the Royal bank of Scotland.

GeoArt at open-air festivals

Geology at art events: Geodelia displayed at the Boom Festival! Check out also part 2 and part 3.

In 2009 I designed a geologic video-art installation for an art / music event. What a great experience!

The installation was hosted at the Boom Festival, a biennial festival located at the heart of the UNESCO Geopark Meseta Meridional (Portugal). Bringing together the latest inspirations in psychedelic audio and visuals, Boom Festival featured music, paint, sculpture, video art, theater and various kinds of workshops.I named the installation Geodelia, as it invokes geology as a mechanism for obtaining aesthetic inspiration through psychedelic visuals. The animated compositions of Geodelia are an expression of geological objects but they exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Indeed Geodelia features the
element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non-sense. There is no didascalic purpose in Geodelia, the focus is only on the beauty of geological shapes.

Until the start of the event, I asked myself: Is it useful to embrace a non-didascalic approach to Earth Sciences? Why choosing dazzling geological patterns and not a traditional educational video?  

My worries disappeared with the enthusiasm of the participants to the psychedelic event, which demonstrated an encouraging attitude towards Geodelia and supported the expressive power of Video Art. Through Geodelia, I recognized the aesthetic grip of Geologic Art on the public, acknowledging the charm and the beauty of geologic shapes.

The Burning Man Festival.

Boom Festival is a key event in the global psychedelic scene, and recently its fame of being the best European open-air festival is stronger than ever. Intriguingly, the Boom has been described as the Burning Man festival of Europe, which recently featured some geology-inspired artworks.
Burning Man is an annual event held in the Black Rock Desert (Nevada, U.S.A.),, an area notable for its geologic features (i.e. Permian volcanic deposits,  remnants of a Pleistocene lake,  hot springs and playas). Burning Man has grown from a small group of people to a community of over 48000 people, being a vivid celebration of art, self-expression and self-reliance. Molly Steenson, a participant of the event, wrote: "Hurtling down the road to the Black Rock Desert, the colors paint themselves like a spice cabinet — sage, dust, slate gray. [...] The two-lane highway turns off onto a new road. You drive slowly onto the playa, the 400 square mile expanse known as the Black Rock Desert. And there you've touched the terrain of what feels like another planet. You're at the end — and the beginning — of your journey to Burning Man. [...] You belong here and you participate. [...] You're there to breathe art. Imagine an ice sculpture emitting glacial music — in the desert. Imagine the man, greeting you, neon and benevolence, watching over the community. You're here to build a community that needs you and relies on you."

Burning Man encourages artistic expression and since 1995 a different artistic theme is given, for each year's event. In 2009 the theme was evolution, a theory strongly supported by geologic evidences. Indeed Geology provides crucial evidences of evolution and establishes it as a scientific fact. For instance, fossils provide a direct evidence for the history of biologic diversity and the Earth's geologic history explains a significant part of the geographic distribution of organisms.

Let's give a look to the "evolutionary artworks" of the Burning Man!


An overview of Burning Man 2009: Evolution.

Black Rock City is the name of the temporary city created by Burning Man participants. In 2009 its circular streets were named: Esplanade, Adapt, Biology, Chaos, DNA, Extinct, Fossil, Genome, Hominid, Inherit, Jurassic, Kinship, Lineage (for a more detailed view see this PDF).

A song dedicated to one of the most bizzarre Cambrian fossils: Opabinia!

Spider...

From the previous media, it emerges that Geology had not a central role at the 2009 Burning Man Festival, while "diversity of morphologies" was the leading aspect in the context of the evolution theme. Nevertheless, some artworks show the importance of "geologic mythologies" as a source of creative inspiration. For these reasons, the Burning Man and the Boom Festival represent, in different ways, the successful interaction between geology, art and open-air festivals. This encourages a more pervasive presence of Geologic Art in such open-air festivals!

A picture from Bthe Burning Man 1999: Pteranodon by Norm Barringer. The theme was "the Wheel of Time".

Carboniferous symphony

'You [Zu] have created a powerful and expressive music that totally blows away what most bands do these day'
- John Zorn, musician

Zu are an Italian instrumental band, composed by Luca Mai on saxophone, Massimo Pupillo on bass and Jacopo Battaglia on drums. This atypical trio mixes elements from classic rock, metal, punk and jazz, but their music would be better characterized as eclectic. Powerful riffs, intricate soundscapes, virtuosistic drumming, pummeling bass, distorted saxophone: Zu are a warm wild marriage of the traditional to the modern.

Zu choosed a geologic setting for their new album, Carboniferous. It features many important collaborations, from Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr.Bungle) to King Buzzo (The Melvins).

Their last release tickle the geologist's imagination as its name comes directly from the Palaeozoic era: Carboniferous. The tracklist includes geologic titles (Obsidian, Carbon) and invokes chtonian atmospheres (Chthonian, Beata Viscera; Erynis, one of the titles of Demeter). Moreover, the official video displays manifest geologic elements, as well as the cover art of "Carboniferous".

Consequently, a question might arise: is "Carboniferous" a geologic concept album?

The official video of Carbon.

To be honest, I have not a straightforward answer. Geologic mythologies are persistent social symbols and therefore it is difficult to distinguish “pure” geologic music from geologic interferences in music. For this reason, further research is needed to solve th Zu-Geology relationship.

Danny De Vito introduces Zu in Rome.

A GeoArt exhibit: interview with Greg Wessel

Geologic Art is a collective term for artistic phenomena in which geology brings its own aesthetic and conceptual baggage.

―  Baucon (2009). Geology in Art

Geologic Art (GeoArt) cannot be regarded a style or a movement; nevertheless, it is a definite, peculiar field as it records the work of “geologic thinkers”. From the layers of Leonardo da Vinci to the fossils of Allan McCollum, “geologic thinkers” traversed centuries and continents to express the emotional charm of the Earth. Despite its importance and diffusion, GeoArt lacks of spaces in which geoartistic objects meet an audience.
In this scenario, there is an art show which is singularly significant in developing and collecting works of Geologic Art: “Geo sapiens, The Fusion of Geology and Art”. Geo sapiens is the first-ever show dedicated to Geologic Art and it is hosted by the Two Wall Gallery (Vashon, Washington, U.S.A.). The first edition of Geo sapiens featured the work of nearly 50 geoartists from across the world (US, Canada, the UK, France, Slovenia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan) and expressed geology in art through a plethora of media and styles.
The upcoming second edition (announced for September, 2010) led me to contact Greg Wessel (figure on the left), the curator of the exhibit, and ask him about Geo sapiens, a breakthrough in the universe of GeoArt.

1.    How was the Geo sapiens exhibition born? What was the catalyst?

I’ve been working as geologist since finishing my MS in 1977, and have done a little art of my own of various sorts (stained glass, printmaking) over the years.  Every so often, I’d stumble across another geologist who also did some kind of art, including music and dance.  For a long time, I’ve thought that there had to be many more geologists around who had a second creative outlet, perhaps because we tend to be creative people during our day jobs.  At the same time, I sensed a decline in the artistic part of being a professional geologist, such as the decline in geologic mapping (so basic to our profession) and more dependence upon computer models and computer assistance. 

A couple of years ago, I volunteered to co-curate a small gallery (Two Wall), which really is just a volunteer group dedicated to having fun and working with art, but not dedicated to making money.  Shortly after taking over, it occurred to me that there had to be enough other artistic geologists out there to make a good show, and to highlight both the creativity in the profession and our connection with the natural world.  The main problem would be finding them.

2.    What inspired you to pull together this exhibition? What were your goals?

I think I was inspired by my wife, Margaret, who loves to dance and who also loves to go rock collecting (she’s an igneous petrologist by training).  I presented the idea of a geo-art exhibit to her, and she challenged me to try it.  My goals were simple:  to connect with other geo-artists and create a venue where they could exhibit together, creating a group exhibit centered on geologic features and principles.

A virtual visit to Geo sapiens: the geoartists John Jackson and Elisabeth Hill. On the backround a colorful artwork by John Jackson (if you want to know more about him, see this past issue of Geology in Art)

3.    How would you describe the organization of the exhibit itself?

Geo sapiens was somewhat of a “dog’s breakfast” of geology-related art works.  We had oils and acrylics, water colors, etchings and linocut prints, pencil drawings, pen and ink drawings, fiber art, carved rock sculptures, a stained glass window, a lamp made out of thin slices of quartzite, photographs, digital manipulations, cartoons, and several works based on topographic maps.  We even had some poetry, handmade furniture, and mosaics made from rock slices that incorporated fossils and amazonite crystals.  The common thread was that all of the artists had some kind of background in the earth sciences and a great appreciation of geology and the natural world.  You could see it clearly in this collection. 


4.    How did you select the artists involved?

The original idea was to limit participants to those who were working earth scientists or had a degree in geology of some kind, but it quickly became clear that there are a lot of talented students out there and it made sense to be as inclusive as we could, so we advertised it as open to professionals and students, and then we defined “student” rather loosely.  Of the nearly 50 participants, better than three quarters were working scientists or engineers.  The rest were college students, part-time students, or retired.  Employment status was not important.

Space was a problem for us, and remains so for Geo sapiens II, so we limited the number of pieces each artist could show, and we were unable to include everyone.  That is probably my biggest disappointment, that we ran out of space and could not show everyone’s work.  I really didn’t have to choose between “good” and “bad” art...it was ALL good!

Devonian Dash by Susan Judy. This sculpture tells a geologic story with geologic materials: a trilobite and its associated trace.

5.    Which were your sensations and suggestions working in-between Geology and Art?

I think this exhibit made it clear to all of the people who participated that they should be more artistic when doing geology and that they could rely more on geology to give them inspiration for their art.  You can put the two together at both ends.

6.    Can you walk us through some of the show's highlights?

I would refer you to our web site (www.twowallgallery.com, click on Archives) where you can see almost all of the works we exhibited.  My father (Ralph Wessel) photographed all of the works, and some of the artists, and my son (Nathaniel Wessel) created the web site. 

I love everything in the show, but I do have a few favorites.  One is the large painting of western Washington and the Cascades (from high up) by Dee Molennar.  Dee is a famous mountaineer who has climbed Mt. Rainier over 100 times and other mountains including Denali and K2.  He is now in his 90s and still really active.  When we went to get the painting for the show, he was up on his garage roof fixing it.  Always the climber, Dee.  Another favorite is a painting by Sylvie Pinard that stylistically represents river meanders.  I love that one.  And there are two incredible rock sculptures by Bill Laprade and a lamp made of thin slices of quartzite by Al Dahlstrand.  Susan Judy’s mosaics are also amazing.  And the two felted fabric sculptures by Linda Hope Ponting...oh my gosh...and the paintings by John Jackson from Australia (who actually came for the opening).  There are just so many great works that you have to check the web site.

Dee Molennar: geologist, mountaneer and artist.

7.    Which themes stood out most consistently?

There really was only one main theme, and that was a fascination and a love of the beauty and complexity of the natural world.  There was also one smaller theme, present in a few of the works, and that was of sadness and loss because of pollution and the destruction of the environment that we treasure.  In fact, those two themes embody the contradiction in geology that exists for me personally:  We love to work in the field studying and treasuring the landscape, but many of us wind up working for mining or petroleum companies who have a vested interest in damaging those things that we so treasure. 

Left: Elisabeth Hill, Volcanic Seed Pod

Right: Geoartists at Geo sapiens: Dianne Noseworthy.
 

8.    Could you add something about the quantity and diversity of artworks involved?

Quantity...our little gallery was packed.  And diversity...yes, lots of media represented, and lots of different representations of how much we, as geoscientists, are fascinated by and respectful of the Earth.

9.    What do you think is the commonality between the artists collected and what is the main differentiating quality?

The commonalities I think I have already described.  The differences...well, each of the geo-artists came from a slightly different background.  Be it a different home country or a different specialty.  You can see these differences in their works.  The art is both universal and personal.

10.    How can someone who's not a geologist understand Geo sapiens?

There were only a few pieces in our collection that needed a little background information, and we provided that.  It’s amazing to me how basic and understandable geologic ideas are to everyone, but schools these days teach basic geology at several grade levels and lots of people vacation at places like the Grand Canyon and Mt. Rainier, where you can’t help but learn geology.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, most people have a basic knowledge of volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis, and have experienced at least one of the three.  Still, art is supposed to make you think, isn’t it?

Geo sapiens featured several sculptures, such as this inspired view of plate tectonics (Subduction by William Laprade). 

11.    Geo sapiens was exhibited at the Two Wall Gallery, which hosted other shows of Geologic Art (i.e. Excuse My English: Layering on the Light Side by Stephanie Lasalle).  How would you describe the role of the Two Wall Gallery within the geoartistic world?

I wish I could say we occupy some kind of prominent position, but there are a lot of folks who would argue that we’re just a small gallery with a geologist for a curator.  And I’d be one of the people saying that.  Anyone else can do this; you just need a good venue and a lot of advertising.  In fact, I’m convinced that geo-art shows could be held all over, even simultaneously, without running out of interest.  There are enough artistic geologists, for example, to easily fill two or three regular shows in the US and Canada, probably at least two in Europe, and others elsewhere.  Some of our Geo sapiens exhibitors have offered to help host satellite shows, but none of those have come together yet.  I’d love to help put together a show in Europe, for instance, and we have an Australian who wants to do one down there.  You just need to find a gallery space, and off you go!

Left: Méandres bruns by Sylvie Pinar.
Right: Trilobite Coquina by Ancil Meacham.

12.    What does Geo sapiens tell us about Geology that many people might be surprised of?

I think it tells us that geologists as a whole can make connections and understand realities that many people cannot see in their day-to-day existence.  We’re good at seeing the big picture, and part of the reason we’ve studied the natural world is because we so love being in it.  Putting those two characteristics together can make for some impressive art.

13.    Geo sapiens II has been announced for September, 2010. What are the biggest challenges facing it?

Organization and marketing.  As with Geo sapiens I, the trick is to get the word out to geologists that we’re doing this.  Geologists typically don’t see calls for artists, and most artists are not geologists, so the problem is figuring out ways to connect with those geologists who ARE artists.

Stephanie Lasalle is an abstract painter who is inspired by the patterns and microstructures of rocks and minerals as viewed through the microscope. Geo sapiens exhibited her vivid Who Said Gabbros Didn’t Have Heart.

14.    Is there a possibility of the exhibition touring?

The most likely way to start going on tour would be to coordinate an exhibit with a professional society annual meeting, such as in my case the Geological Society of America or the Geological Society of Canada.  Some of the societies already do similar things.  The GSA, for example, typically has a photography exhibit (which always has amazing entries) but they don’t curate collections of other media or fine art.  What I find really interesting is that the National Speleological Society has several art salons that they organize along with their annual meetings.  One is just about designs for insignias and patches.  Apparently, cavers are really interested in art!  It’s funny that I used to be a caver myself. 

But the real problem with going on tour is the shipping expense.  I had originally hoped that we could go on tour, but I quickly learned that although there are plenty of people around the country who would love to see an exhibit like ours, getting the money together to take the show on the road was not going to be easy.  We still haven’t figured that out.  If we could find a source of funding and hook up with a good museum (Los Angeles, Denver, New York, Smithsonian, are you listening?) or several good galleries, then we’d have it made.

15.    Is there an audience for Geologic Art?

I can answer that with two words:  YOU BET!  Everyone loves it.  There is absolutely no doubt about that.

Geosapiens: everyone loves GeoArt!

NOTE: All the pictures of this issue come from http://www.twowallgallery.com/geosapiens.html. I suggest you to visit the website, there you will find a comprehensive gallery of Geo sapiens!

Per Kirkeby: Geology’s abstract landscape painter

Towards a map of Geologic Art: the tag cloud of my book 'Geology in Art' (built with http://www.wordle.net/).

When I wrote ‘Geology in Art’, I was astounded by the variety and complexity of the interrelationships between Geology and Art. Music, literature, painting, sculpture… The world of Geologic Art (GeoArt) is vast and underexplored.

At present day, my research aims to trace a map of the GeoArt phenomenon, but many areas are still unexplored. "Hic sunt leones!" I have to thank Anette Petersen for drawing my attention on Per Kirkeby, one of the most internationally acclaimed Danish artists.

Per Kirkeby, Weltuntergang.

I must be sincere now. When I initially approached Kirkeby’s artwork I asked myself: “where’s the geology there?”. Then I started to look better. Those abstract patterns had something familar, although I was not able to discern clear visual references to the geological world. Nevertheless, I knew that those color splashes had ‘something’ geologic. As a geologist, I saw those pattern in the field, so I thought:

It isn’t rock but it is rock.
It isn’t a mudcrack but it is a mudcrack.
They aren’t layers but they are layers.

This is Kirkeby’s Geology.

The structural organization of Kirkeby's Brett Felsen recalls layering. The work was displayed at the Tate Modern Gallery, which hosted a monographic exhibition of the artist in 2009.

Cross-bedding in Middle Old Red Sandstone on the Isle of Bressay, Shetland Islands. Compare it with Kirkeby's Brett Felsen. Photo by Anne Burgess

Now I feel Kirkeby’s artworks as patterns of visual geology. My idea is supported by the artist’s biography. He is a geologist and earned his master's degree in arctic geology, participating to expeditions to the Arctic and Greenland. With the words of artfacts.net: “Vertical structures predominate in these paintings, forming new associations with the landscape motif which has long fascinated the artist. Indeed, ideas about landscape, sedimentation, and layers are key elements in Per Kirkeby's art rooted in the artist's early geological studies at university.” In my opinion, the structure of Kirkeby’s works seems to follow the same constructional ‘rules’ of many geologic elements. This is a very personal (and biased) idea, but these rules could be the self-similarity of fractals. Fractal organization is very common, either in geological structures or in art (you find here a paper about geology and fractals).

Per Kirkeby, Flight to Egypt.

When I saw Kirkeby's 'Flight to Egypt' I thought to through-bedding, then my mind went to thin sections (illustrated). Thin sections are thin slivers of rock, usually examined by geologist under the light of a polarizing microscope.

It appears that Kirkeby’s visions originated by the observation of geology in the field and geology is the ‘magic fluid’ permeating Kirkeby’s aesthetic universe. If somebody would ask me to frame Kirkeby’s role in Earth Sciences, I would answer:

“Kirkeby is Geology’s abstract landscape painter”.

A Paleo-Road Trip through Art: Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway

Ray Troll is one of my favorite paleo-artists, thanks to his very peculiar style. Colorful vivid, ironic, dreamy: Troll's artworks have a unique, unmistakable appeal. Recently, Troll and Kirk Johnson organized an exhibit with a weird name: Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway. It makes no surprise that I decided to investigate.

I discovered that 'Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway' was presented at the Burke Museum, displaying a sort of paleo-road trip through American West. What an engaging theme! Unfortunately, I live in Europe, so it is quite difficult to visit the show. What a pity!

A look at artist Ray Troll's artistic process throughout the creation of the Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway exhibit, on view at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

Nevertheless, I found a possibility. Ray Troll and Kirk Johnson authored a book with the same name: it is 'Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway: An Epoch Tale of Scientist and an Artist on the Ultimate 5,000-Mile Paleo Road Trip'. It follows the travels of a paleontologist and an artist driving across the American West in search of fossils. The book is filled with Troll's art! Although only this makes the book a must-have, there is much more. 'Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway' is not a coffee-table book, it is a sort of illustrated diary. The story is presented with a very engaging narrative, full of anectodes and curious facts. It's a pleasure to read it!
'Cruisin' the fossil Freeway' recalls the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. More in detail, I thought of Kerouac's 'On the Road' when I read of a 'paleontologic' backstage with Ziggy Marley!

Kirk Johnson, PhD, chief curator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science talks about his award-winning book, Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway.

Curiosities apart, the book is an amazing road-trip travelogue with an impressive visual part, including not only Troll's illustrations but also many 'on the road' photographs.

If you like adventure, fossils or art, then you will enjoy this book!

Ray Troll authored also a paleontologic song: this is the 'Devonian Blues'! If you liked the music, you can't miss Troll's 'Cannery Girl'!

Diplodocus in Art

Heinrich Harder, Diplodocus (1916). Although the idea of sauropods is quite changed from then, the work of Harder is still a masterpiece of paleo-art.

Diplodocus is a sauropod dinosaur which lived in what is now western North America at the end of the Jurassic period. Alongside with Tyrannosaurus, Diplodocus is one of the most famous and much-depicted dinosaurs.
His role in popular culture is partly related to the industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who donated many mounted skeletal casts to potentates around the world at the beginning of the twentieth century. Thanks to him, people worldwide familiarized with Diplodocus.
Carnegie's project drew much public attention in Europe and the German satirical weekly Kladderadatsch (or 'Crash') devoted a poem to the dinosaur:

[...] Auch ein viel älterer Herr noch muß

Den Wanderburschen spielen
Er ist genannt Diplodocus‚ und zählt zu den Fossilen
Herr Carnegie verpackt ihn froh
In riesengroße Archen
Und schickt als Geschenk ihn so
An mehrere Monarchen [...]

The translation is:

[...] But even a much older gent
Sees itself forced to wander
Goes by the name Diplodocus
And belongs among the fossils
Mr. Carnegie packs him joyfully
In giant arcs
And sends him as gift this way
To multiple monarchs.

Successively, the artist Winsor McCay's based his animated character 'Gertie' on sauropod dinosaurs (i.e. Apatosaurus and Diplodocus). Although not the first animated film, 'Gertie the Dinosaur' was animated character with an appealing and well-defined personality. The first presentation of the film was at the Palace Theater in Chicago on February 8, 1914. The performance consisted of McCay interacting with Gertie, following the tradition of vaudeville theatrical shows.
The animator-actor would stand on stage in front of the projection screen, dressed in a tuxedo and wielding a whip. He would call Gertie and instructed her to perform various tricks, similar to a circus act.
He would appear to toss an apple to her — McCay palmed the apple while Gertie caught an animated copy of it. For the finale, McCay disappeared behind the screen just as a cartoon version of him climbed onto Gertie's head and rode off.

Winsor McCay picked up by Gertie!

Gertie's poster. 'She's a scream!'

Here is the movie of Gertie the Dinosaur. The author - Winsor Mc Cay - also created the newspaper comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland.

Gertie was named #6 of the '50 Greatest Cartoons' of all time in a 1994 survey of animators and cartoon historians.
Sauropod dinosaurs appear also in Centennial, a novel by James Michener that traces the history of the plains of northeast Colorado from prehistory until the early 1970s. In most recent times, the Dutch electronic music trio Noisia composed a song named 'Diplodocus'. Check it out!

'Diplodocus' by Noisia.

The Ultimate Dinosaur

When I was just a paleo-enthusiastic kid I recieved "The Ultimate Dinosaur" as a present. It is a book which alternates essays written by paleontologists, short stories authored by science fiction writers, and artworks created by first-class illustrators. The book mixes coherently very different languages to describe prehistoric life: science, literature and visual arts. A great concept.

I will take three authors as an example of the multi-faceted nature of the book: Phil Currie (paleontologist), Ray Bradbury (writer) and William Stout (visual artist).
Phil Currie. 'The Ultimate Dinosaur' includes a scientific essay by Philip Currie: 'Migrating dinosaurs'. Currie is a Canadian paleontologist researching on dinosaurs, with particular interest for theropods and the origin of birds. He helped to describe two of the first dinosaur specimens with feathers, indicating that many dromaeosaurids were feathered.
Intriguingly, Currie is a life-long science-fiction fan, and fan of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Geology and Art, again.

Philip Currie, paleontologist..

Ray Bradbury. Probably my favourite story from 'the Ultimate Dinosaur' is 'Besides a Dinosaur, Whatta Ya Gonna Be when you grow up?', authored by the noted sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury. He is a prolific writer and his works includes classics such as 'Farhenait 451' and the 'Martian Chronicles'. Bradbury attributes his lifelong habit of writing every day to an incident happened in 1932. Mr. Electrico, a carnival entertainer, touched him on the nose with an electrified sword, made his hair stand on end, and shouted, "Live forever!".
It was from then that Bradbury wanted to live forever and decided his career as an author in order to do what he was told: live forever. It was at that age that Bradbury started his interest for magic. Curiously, Bradbury was a close friend of Charles Addams, an american cartoonist who invented the characters known as 'The Addams Family'.
Ray Bradbury has long had a fascination with dinosaurs, as demonstrated his stories and poems about the mesozoic beasts. Some of Bradbury's stories on dinosaurs are included in the volume 'Dinosaur Tales'.


William Stout. Among the artists who illustrated Bradbury's 'Dinosaur Tales' there is William Stout, which also provided some works of art for 'the Ultimate Dinosaur'. Indeed Stout is either a fantasy artist and a paleo-artist, moving without difficulty between the two worlds.
His double otlook can be seen in his numerous incursions outside the 'traditional' 2D-art. For instance, he worked on over thirty feature films, including both 'Conan' and Gulliermo del Toro's 'Pan's Labyrinth'. His expertise with paleontology is witnessed by his role in the computer-animated movie 'Dinosaur' (Walt Disnet Pictures; he was the character designer).
It is worth to note that eleven Stout paintings were selected for the traveling exhibition 'Dinosaurs Past and Present', an important group show depicting the history of paleoart.
Stout is also an outdoor enthusiast.
In Antarctica he climbed Mt.Erebus, made several dives beneath the ice, camped in the dry valleys, and produced over one hundred painted studies on Antarctica's wildlife. His experiences resulted in several exhibitions: 'William Stout's Visions of Gondwana - Past and Present Life in Antarctica', 'Dinosaurs On Ice - William Stout's Antarctica', 'Dinosaurs, Penguins & Whales: William Stout's Antarctica'.

The multi-faceted interests of William Stout recall the personality of Charles Willson Peale, an American painter born in 1741. Peale had a great interest in natural history and organized the first U.S. scientific expedition in 1801.
He founded the Philadelphia Museum, later renamed the Peale museum. Notably, the museum was among the first to adopt Linnaean taxonomy. Peale's museum was among the first to display mastodon bones and the artist also illustrated a paleontological excavation of a mastodon.

Charles Willson Peale, Exhuming the First American Mastodon (1806).

Paleontologic inspirations in James Cameron's Avatar

Like many other sci-fi enthusiasts, I saw James Cameron’s blockbuster film Avatar.
My opinion is twofold, divided between two aspects of the movie: filming and watching it.

Filming Avatar. Cameron invested substantial resources in creating a revolutionary filming framework and probably set a reference point for the technology of filmaking. For instance, Avatar introduced a very efficent virtual camera system, displaying an augmented reality on a monitor. Thanks to this technological advance, the director can see the actor's virtual counterparts into their digital world in real-time.




Watching Avatar. Here Avatar is less revolutionary. The movie is aesthetically impressive, but the final result is fully comparable to the last-generation computer graphics. Outstanding, but nothing new. Similarly the the 3D glasses represent a juicy old-fashioned technology but they are not critical to appreciate the elaborate visuals. Despite the significant hype raised, Avatar is not a breakthrough in the aesthetics of moving images.
As most of the movies, Avatar isn't only visuals. Indeed I greately appreciated the themes, revolving around a sense of ecological awareness. Avatar criticizes the environmental and social effects of imperialism, coming out at the right moment of the development of human civilization.
Unfortunately, the themes are developed through an extremely linear plot. After the first 30 minutes you know already all the movie. Nothing unexpected happens and there is the persistent impression to have seen something like that before. As many people said, Avatar is nothing more than 'Dances With Wolves in space'.
Avatar is a phenomenon you can't ignore, entertaining and done with extraordinary expertise. Nevertheless, it is definitely not a masterpiece.



Paleontology in Avatar. You might ask why I dealt about Avatar. Isn't this a blog about Geology and Art?
The answers are quite subterraneous, and they regard the fictional biology created by Cameron.
Avatar witnesses an enormous effort into bringing a fictional biological world to life. The result is convincing, although many creatures are modeled closely on familiar animals.
Under this point of view, Avatar is an eye-catching interpretation of how evolution might toss up on another planet. Paleontology is one of the strongest evidences of evolution, therefore I started to look for any paleontological references in Avatar.
Many creatures are obviously dinosaur-like or pterosaur-like, but I didn't find any explicit reference to precise prehistoric animals. Consequently my quest could finish without a result, but then I found the words of Wayne Barlowe, one of the creature creators of Avatar:

"I was influenced by manta rays and skates – sea life motifs were prevalent in my thoughts at the time – when it came to my initial concepts. Their lines informed everything from wings to head profiles. And, yes, being a huge paleontology buff did make me think of the vast variety of relatively little-known pterosaurs and plesiosaurs with their many, unique aerodynamic and hydrodynamic solutions."

Bingo! This demonstrates the origin of the reptile-like flying critters from planet Pandora, coming straight out from geologic times. In conclusion, Avatar is neither a paleontologic movie or an example of geologic art, but it shows how fossils can inspire modern artists.

The Thagomizer

The thagomizer is an arrangement of four to ten spikes on the tails of certain dinosaurs, of which Stegosaurus stenops is the most familiar. It is believed to have been a defensive weapon against predators, although some researches propose a display function only.

Stegosaurus by Heinrich Harder, a paleoartist active between 19th and 20th century. Note the spike arrangement on the tail: it's the Thagomizer!

The term "thagomizer" comes from a 1982 comic strip: the Far Side by Gary Larson. The strip shows a caveman professor discussing about the spikes on the tail of Stegosaurus. The professor explains to the audience that the spikes were named "after the late Thag Simmons" (Thag Simmons is a fictional caveman from Gary Larson's comic).

"Now this end is called the thagomizer...after the late Thag Simmons."

The paleontologist Ken Carpenter picked up the term and used it when describing a fossil at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Annual Meeting in 1993.
Thagomizer has since been adopted as an anatomical term!

The author of the comic strip has a background in Life Sciences, which explains his frequent use of animals and nature in the comic. For this reason too, he is well aware that dinosaurs and humans did not exist in the same era. Indeed he suggests that "there should be cartoon confessionals where we could go and say things like, 'Father, I have sinned – I have drawn dinosaurs and hominids together in the same cartoon.'"

The Thagomizer is not the only scientific term brought by comics. A nice example is given by a strip from "Calvin and Hobbes", criticizing the naming of the Big Bang as unevocative of the wonders behind it. The strip coined the term 'Horrendous Space Kablooie', which has achieved some popularity among the scientific community, particularly in informal discussion.
What about the suggested alternative to Tyrannosaurus rex, 'monstrous killer death lizard'?